OTAS

Nursing is a second career for me. I graduated with my BSN last June at the age of 53. I have a partner of 22 years, but no children. He teaches four nights a week. My walk to/from work takes about 30 minutes, so I don't have much of a commute. I currently have a temporary full-time position on a neurosciences unit here in Vancouver (BC). A normal full-time schedule on my unit (and on most units here in Vancouver) comprises two 12-hour days (0700-1900) followed by two 12-hour nights (1900-0700), with four or five days off in between. Before working this routine, I thought it sounded crazy. Now that I've done it for awhile, though, I find it pretty manageable. I find the third day quite restorative after two 12-hour days, and usually sleep a little later. I catch up on tasks and errands, go to the gym, try to do something fun with my partner, and have a short nap before heading to work in the evening. After night shifts, I follow the excellent advice of one of my preceptors: eat a little breakfast, drink some chamomile tea, and take a melatonin tablet. I usually sleep 5 or 6 hours (about the same as a normal night's sleep) and feel pretty rested when I wake up. I usually take a 1-hour nap on my "lunch" break during the night, and find it pretty helpful. I'm usually a little tired on my first day after four shifts, but then I was usually tired on Saturday after working five 9-10 hour days in my old advertising career. I really enjoy the string of four or five days off, especially since my partner and I can enjoy things like skiing, cycling and swimming when most of the world is at work. My constantly-changing schedule is a new challenge for us after years of a regular Monday-Friday routine, but we're adapting pretty well and learning to enjoy the benefits. I love my work, even though Neuro can be pretty heavy (high acuity, lots of total-care patients). Most of my co-workers are younger than I, but they seem to be pretty content with this particular kind of shift work. I should add that there are some nurses who have worked on this unit for more than 20 years, and are still doing the 2 days/2nights routine. I can see how this schedule would be very difficult for someone with children (I don't think I'd like it if I had children of my own), but many of my colleagues have kids and somehow manage to make it work. To sum up, I'd say four 12-hour shifts is plenty do-able as long as there's a 'break' of sorts in the middle.

I enjoyed reading the posts here, and just wanted to pass along a suggestion to those whose shaky hands give them trouble in clinical. I, too, have this problem, which was identified by one of my instructors as an "intentional tremor" (i.e. a tremor that results from or is exacerbated by one's focused intention on doing something). She gave me a suggestion that has saved my bacon, and is one which I've passed on to other students with the same issue. For me (and for most people posting here), the problem appears to be shaky hands. My hands shake when they are unsupported and when I am concentrating on doing something intricate (such as drawing up medication from a vial). The solution for me is to put the "edges" of my hands (i.e. the part immediately below the base of the little finger) together, with my palms up and open, when performing delicate two-handed tasks, and use my fingers (which do not shake) to manipulate the vial and syringe. 'Works like a charm: my hands don't shake and my fingers are steady as can be. For tasks where I can't always put my hands together (such as starting IVs), I make sure to anchor my hand against something steady (e.g. the patient's arm) and use my fingers to guide/push the needle. It took a little practice, but "the shakes" are no longer a problem for me. Good luck!

Don't forget to search any and all terms related to ESRD or CRD. I would especially suggest "dialysis," as this is a common treatment for many renal patients and is an area with lots of nursing involvement. Also, I had to do a similar project last year, and found it very helpful to go my local university (University of British Columbia, in my case) and use their article database. I found it much more extensive than my own school's (BCIT), and I had no trouble meeting my article quota. The database was not available to non-UBC students from off-campus, but there was a regional branch of the UBC library in a hospital close to my house. Good luck!

Nursing will be a second career for me (after 20 years in advertising), and a number of my nursing friends (both men and women) attempted to dissuade me from pursuing it. I'd say the pros and cons were about 50:50. Nonetheless, I trusted my gut and decided to go for it. I've had a few second thoughts along the way, but they're more and more rare as I get closer to graduation (next May). I think I made a good choice. Here's what I've learned about career advice from other nurses: It's important to remember that people go into this profession for a variety of reasons, only some of which relate to the actual nature of nursing work itself. Some entered the profession because their mother or other relative was a nurse, and simply followed in the family footsteps. Others became nurses because nursing paid enough to provide a measure of financial independence sufficient to allow them to move from small towns to a bigger city, emigrate to another country, or achieve other purely practical goals. I've had older nurses tell me that they went into nursing because it was--in the past--one of only a very few career options for women. My (admittedly limited) experience in my nursing-school practica has shown me that nurses who entered the profession because they were drawn to nursing work itself are generally happy in their jobs. Even the ones who've been doing it for 20 years or more often still have a lot of heart and enthusiasm for what they do. They're the ones who are willing to share their experience with students, spend some of their limited time answering patients' questions or reassuring family members, and they're the ones who continue to learn and grow as nurses. I've been fortunate to work with a few of these nurses during my program, and they've helped confirm my confidence in my decision. If nursing work appeals to you--both the physical and emotional aspects, both the technical stuff and the 'dirty' work--then I would encourage you to pursue it. But: If you've ambivalent about the work itself and you're approaching nursing as a means to another end, I'd urge you to think twice. You could very well end up like some of the nurses who attempted to discourage you from entering the profession. One more thing: nursing is huge and varied profession. If med/surg isn't your thing, you might try a specialty practice. I'm currently working as an ESN (employed student nurse) on a cardiac surgery/cardiology ward, and I really enjoy it. The patient load is manageable (4-5 on days, 6-7 on nights; mine is less than that because of my student status) and nurses have quite a lot of autonomy. The working relationship with physicians is very collegial, and there's a lot of respect for nurses' work. It's what I expected nursing work to be like. As for being asked why I didn't decide to be a doctor, it happens from time to time. It doesn't bother me, though. Perhaps that's because I'm too old (53) to contemplate 8-10 years of med school and residency. I've identified another reason since being in school, though: I've seen what doctors' work looks like, and I prefer nursing work. I spend more time with patients and have had the opportunity to develop some good therapeutic relationships. That's very rewarding for me, and I don't think I'd get the same satisfaction from being a doctor. 'Sorry for the long post, but it sounds like you've got a big decision to make and I hope I've been helpful. Good luck.

Although I won't graduate until next May, I recently started working as an ESN (Employed Student Nurse) on a Cardiology/Cardiac Surgery unit. Here in British Columbia (Canada), normal shift work comprises two 12-hour days (0700 - 1900) followed by two 12-hour nights (1900 - 0700), followed by five days off. I was initially quite concerned about how I'd adapt to this, but found it surprisingly easy. FYI, I'm 53, and normally sleep about six hours/night. A couple of useful tips from some of my veteran nurse instructors/mentors: 1.) Eat very lightly (or not at all) during the wee hours of the shift, especially if you want to maintain a daytime circadian rhythm when you're not working. 2.) When you get home in the morning, eat something light (e.g. toast with peanut butter) before you go to sleep. This helps prevent being wakened by hunger. 3.) Drink a little chamomile tea or something warm and uncaffeinated before you go to bed. 4.) It doesn't work for everyone, but I find that a little melatonin (about 1mg or so) reliably puts my body into 'sleep' mode. 5.) Keep your sleeping room quiet, dark and cool. I didn't want to spend the money on special drapes, so I used an eye mask I found at REI. I live in downtown Vancouver, where it's really noisy, so I use earplugs (buy 'em by the bag at Home Depot; much cheaper than the drug store). 6.) Eat a good lunch when you get up/before you go to work, and have a light supper during your first break (usually around 2100-2200). This regimen worked like a charm for me, and I found I had almost no need for "recovery" after four shifts. Good luck!

I was 50 when I started and will be 53 when I graduate next year. This is my second or third career (depending on the criteria for "career") and I'm enjoying it a lot. I'm in a class that started with 60 students, six of whom were men. There were two guys in their late 20s, two in their 30s, and two of us within five years of 50. Age-wise, my class is a bit unusual, with probably twelve students in the 35+ age bracket and six of us over 40. I recently helped with orientation for the latest incoming class, and it's a much younger group. Out of 64 students, I'd estimate 55 of them to be under 25 years old. There was only one person--a woman--who was likely 40+. 'Hope this is helpful for you.